Show Summary

Children In Need is, in itself, a charity which raises money for unfortunate children in the UK.

Although the show as we know it today didn't begin airing until November 1980. Various radio appeals on behalf of the charity had aired since 1927 and then 'The Childrens Hour Christmas Appeal' aired, on Christmas Day in 1955, starting off the Children In Need Television campaigns, in between then and 1979, many famous faces of the time took to raising money for the charity, by hosting short 5 minute appeals, called 'Children In Need of Care'. Terry Wogan who has presented all of the telethons since they started in 1980, began with 2 of these appeals in 1978 and 1979.

Since November 1980, the BBC has broadcast the show as a telethon. The show was hosted by Terry Wogan, Esther Rantzen and Sue Lawley and unlike todays shows, were the shows are in 2 parts with a break for the news in between, was split into 6 parts around the schedule on the night.

The shows star an amalgamation of hundreds of TV Stars, Celebrities, Comedians and Musicians work, as they all pull together to entertain the British public, making sure that the message of why they're doing it is regularily emphasised.

Regular film inserts are featured showing stories from various needy children and how the viewers pledges can help them, alongside Celebrity supporters.

The show like the BBC's other fundraising telethon Comic Relief is often helped by many shows from ITV & Channel 4, over the years. The casts of Emmerdale, Coronation Street, How Clean Is Your House?, Birds of a Feather and EastEnders have all contributed with special mini-episodes featured within the main show, over the years.

The mascot of Children in Need Pudsey Bear first appeared in 1985 and he got his registered charity status in 1989.moreless

Has helped children every year in the UK and is well worth watching

Each year since 1980, the BBC has set aside one evening of programming on its flagship television channel, BBC One, to show events aimed at raising money for charities working with children in the UK. BBC coverage also extends across the BBC's other television channels and national and local radio channels. A mascot called 'Pudsey', a teddy bear with a bandage over one eye, was introduced in 1985 and has become a regular feature. Children in Need was registered as a charity in 1989.The appeal gains the majority of its money from donations of private individuals who may themselves have raised the funds by taking part in sponsored events. Sponsored sitting in a bath of baked beans is a perennial favourite. Companies also donate either money directly or benefits in kind, such as HSBC donating banking facilities, and BT donating telephone lines and operatives. On the night of the televised appeal, donations are solicited by celebrities appearing on the seven-hour long programme performing various activities such as sketches or musical numbers, intermixed with featurettes showing what the money will be used for. Featured celebrities often include those from programmes on the BBC's rival ITV network, including some appearing in-character, and/or from the sets of their own programmes. A sketch by BBC newsreaders has become an annual fixture (most recently Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in 2005 and a 'James Bond' theme in 2006). Stars of newly-opened West End musicals regularly perform a number from their show later in the evening after 'curtain call' in their respective theatres. The total raised so far is frequently flashed on screen, with presenters urging viewers to part with "any penny they can spare" to help push the total beyond the target milestone.Though Children in Need is welcomed by a large proportion of the British public, there are some who offer an alternative view, that the portrayal of children, particularly disabled children, as victims is unfortunate and counter-productive. It is argued that a change in social attitudes will benefit the disadvantaged more than money and public sympathy.The money contributed to Children in Need is distributed to children's charities.moreless

BRITISH TV CHARITY EXTRAVAGANZA CHILDREN IN NEED IS BACK. SCORES OF CELEBRITIES ARE LINING UP TO JOIN PRESENTERS TERRY WOGAN AND TESS DALY AS THEY RAISE MONEY FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN ACROSS THE UK. THE SEVEN-HOUR SHOW FEATURES A VARIETY OF ENTERTAINMENT TREATS, AND WE'VE ROUNDED UP THE BEST BITS FOR YOU.

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